Car construction



y 7, 1929. D. HINDAHL ETAL CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed April 10, 1928 [20632275 Dawd Patented May 7, 1929.

UNITED STATES DAVID HINDAHL AND JOHN O. NEIKIRK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CAR CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed April 10,

This invention relates to improvements in railroad car constructions; particularly to the type of cars having metallic walls such as hopper or gondola cars.

The invention has particular application to open-top cars, although it is not to be limited in this respect.

Cars of this type are capable of two different constructions. Heretofore it has been the practice to. construct metal cars, such as hopper cars, with metallic side plates of steel connected between upper and lower chord members and of such strength and construc- 'tion as to form the load carrying members. The upper and lower chords were usually of rolled angles and the car sides were stiffened vertically by metal posts to form what was in eifect a plate girder which enabled it to carry the load without the necessityof using an independent side frame.

It has been found in practice that car sides of the above construction are subject to rapid deterioration, due to abrasion and wear of the material carried in the car and also to corrosion by sulphuric acid, which is present in coal, when coal is conveyed. Serious results follow when car sides of the above con struction deteriorate in that the strength of the car is materially diminished and the replacement of the deteriorated parts is impractical and expensive.

The second type of construction applicable to metallic cars is that contemplated in this invention and is one in which side frames are constructed independently of the load-rctaining walls or sheets, and which form the load carrying frames or supports on which the load-retaining walls are secured. Load carrying side frames of this type preferably embody in their construction upper and lower chord members, vertical supports and diagonal braces between the vertical supports extending between the upper and lower chord members. In order to provide the necessary strength relatively large attaching surfaces must be provided at the pointswhere the vertical and diagonal supports join and are secured to the upper and lower chord members. This may be accomplished by fianging any of these parts, or by providing gusset plates secured at their juncture, to which all;

of the parts may be connected or attached by. the number of rivets or other securing means necessary to rovide the desired strength.

With side frames constructed in this manner, it is next desirable to provide relatively 1 28. Serial No. 268,893.

thin retaining plates or sheets which may be tively thin, light and inexpensive sheets substituted therefor.

To this end it is an object of this invention to provide a car construction embodying all of these advantages, and particularly one in which the load retaining plates extend throughout the entire height of the side walls in a manner to provide in a single sheet the load retaining surface positioned to protect all of the connections between the braces and chords in the side frame.

It is a further object to provide a car con struction of the above described type in which the braces of the side walls are secured together by rivets or other means lying in one vertical plane, and the load retaining sheets are secured in a second vertical plane spaced inwardly of the car from said first plane.

It is a further object to provide, in a car of the above described type, a chord having vertically disposed portions positioned in spaced planes for contacting the Various parts, together with means for securing the parts in position in a manner hereinafter more fully described.

These and other objects are accomplished I by means of the arrangement disclosed on the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of one endof a car constructed in accordance with the present invention Figure 2 is an enlarged horizontal crosssection of a portion of the carshown in Fi ure 1, and taken on the line 9-'-2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the car construction shown in Figure 1, taken on the line 3-3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

The Various novelfeatures of the invention will be apparent from the following description and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, it will be noted that my invention is illustrated as applied to a hopper car of the usual construction having the under-frame 10 properly mounted on wheels 11 and the body 12 having the hoppers 13 as shown in the drawing. The body comprises a rigid load-supporting frame having the upper chord member 14 and lower chord member 15 connected by the vertical stakes or supports 16 and the diagonal braces 17. The supports 16 are secured at their lower ends to the lower chord by any suitable.

means, such as the rivets 18, and the braces 17 are likewise secured as at 19. The lower '1 chord may be of any suitable construction,

"rmight be enlarged throughout its entire length, or at the particular locations wherethe braces and supports join therewith, so as to provide the necessary area and strength for the connections without the necessity of the gusset plates. Load retaining walls are provided in a vertical plane inwardly of the plane of the stakes and braces, as shown in Figure 3, having their upper ends secured to the upstanding flange 22 by means of 1 rivets, or other suitable securing means, and

having their marginal edges overlapping as at 26 and-riveted to the vertical stakes and diagonal braces.

The important feature of this construction is that of providing the stakes and braces with rivets or other securing means lying in an outside plane and the retaining walls or sheets lying in an inside plane, which walls when so positioned protect the supports, braces and chords and the rivets or connecti'ons securing these parts. The upper chord is shown in the form of a Z-bar in which the extension 22, to which the side wall 25 is attached, is upstanding, but it is obvious that this may be in the form of a U, or any other form where vertically disposed portions are provided as means against which the parts may abut to be positioned in two parallel vertical planes and be secured in such positions. The upper chord may comprise merely the portion 21 depending from the outer edge of the horizontal web 20, with the inner edge of the web positioned in the plane of the retaining sheet 25. The retaining sheet may then be positioned in contact with the inner portions of the supports and braces and the inner edge of the web and have its upper edge bent into a horizontal plane and secured to the web. The stakes and supports are herein shown of flanged U-shaped cross sect-ion because this form cooperates well with the type of upper chord illustrated, but here again the only feature necessary to this invention is that of providing the necessary strength and portions of the supports and braces lying in spaced vertical planes to which the other parts may be connected, and therefore, this invention contemplates the use of any type of means which will serve well in this capacity.

We claim:

1. In a metallic car, side frames comprising top and bottom chords and members connecting said top and bottom chords, said chords and members having parts lying in substantially the same vertical plane 'and means for inter-connecting said parts, said chords and members having portions presenting surfaces lying in a vertical plane spaced from said first vertical plane, and side container sheets connected to said portions in said second plane.

2. In a car of the character described, upper and lower chords, members extending between said chords and connected thereto by means lying in substantially a vertical plane,

said chords and members having portions for contacting and supporting a retaining sheet in a vertical plane spaced. from said first named vertical plane, and means for securing said sheet in such position.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 6th day of April, 1928.

' DAVID HINDAHL.

J. O. NEIKIRK. 

